Watchin the World Cup at the brewery before the beer fest. Tried out this little gem for the first time, good clarity, orange hue. Aroma was grassy hops, didn't really detect the rye.

Drank it, was blown away. This can compete with Hop Rod Rye. Menu claims 30% rye in the grain bill, and I was suprised it was over 10%. Nuanced to say the least. Super hoppy, almost wet hops. A degree of spice, but lesser than many I've had. Excellent all the way down, and at a decent price.

Had this numorous times, many times the hops fade and the bitterness is way up. Always good, but had to take my perfect 5 taste away, but I'm suspecting that super fresh, still a 5, just its taking the Truckee locals a little longer to finish their kegs I guess.

EDIT: I keep having this beer, but dang, for whatever reason, it seems wildly inconsistent. When its on top of its game, man, its like a '5' in taste, but when its not, its just a brassy bitterness without the same flavor, malt or hop wise. The rating will continue to reflect the overall experience, rather than what it is at the top or bottom of its game.

Draft at The Bistro IPA fest. Cloudy copper color with a small cap that retains well. Spicy rye aroma with floral hoppiness, earthy and zesty, somewhat muted. Tastes of slightly caramelized malt and earthy, spicy rye, floral and citrusy hops. Firm earthy and grapefruity bitterness, too bitter to put down more than one pint, but enjoyable in small quantities. Nice stuff.

Update:

Sampled this fresh on tap at FiftyFifty and it was excellent, quite a bit better than the keg from the IPA fest. Rating bumped from B+ to A.

2/18/2011:

The SF beer week batch of this beer is awesome. Huge tropical fruit aromatics to balance the bitter kick in the finish. Rye comes through nicely, earthy and spicy. A fantastic batch of an already great beer.

I've had this many times over the years and man can it be inconsistent. If its because of age, well that doesn't make much sense as I always drink it at the source. Either way, lets commence.

Comes in with those yellow and orange color mixture, head forms up, 3/4" and dies back down. When the aroma is kicking, its pungent, when its not, it leaves you feeling like its lacking.

Taste again, sometimes the hop feels are solid, sometimes they're lacking and it becomes a real bitter bomb. I mean, this stuff could be rated close to a 5 on a good day, but closer to 3 on a bad one. Whats a guy to do.